Hey Arnold! The Jungle Movie: Quest of the Heart
by Patsuko
Summary: This is a fan version of the cancelled Hey Arnold Movie, TJM. The story starts where Arnold is now in the fifth grade. It's been months since the map was found. Arnold gets the chance of a lifetime in his own quest for answers. The class thinks this is just a simple adventure into the jungles of Central America, little did they know Arnold had his own secret agenda.
1. Chapter 1: Heartbreak

**Hey Arnold The Jungle Movie: Quest of the Heart**

Chapter 1

"Aw man! I can't believe the sixth graders beat us again! This is the third time in a row!" Gerald complained as he picked up his bat.

Arnold dragged himself to the small bleachers to sit down. Helga stomped toward him.

"What happened out there Hair boy?! You could have easily caught the ball. Criminy! This is the second time you cost us the game!" She scowled with a menacing look.

"Yeah Arnold. How could you miss the ball? It landed RIGHT in front of you!" Sid yelled shaking his arms.

As the kids walked off huffing and complaining, Harold let out one last insult.

"Looooooser!"

Helga swung her bat over her shoulder and stomped out of Gerald Field with the rest of the gang mumbling and sighing. Arnold, who really wasn't paying much attention to the kids' insults, just sat like a lump on an old log. Gerald stared at Arnold knowing something wasn't right. He slowly walked toward his best friend giving him a concerned look.

"Hey Arnold. You ok? You don't seem like yourself today." He said taking a seat beside him. Arnold didn't say a word. There was only a few seconds of silence from the two ten year olds, until Gerald decided to leave Arnold to ponder about whatever might be wrong.

"I understand if you don't want to talk about it." Gerald stood up again and managed to take a few steps before Arnold broke his silence.

"Oh..Uhh.. Sorry Gerald.. I just have a lot on my mind right now." the lamenting Arnold slowly stood up still rubbing where the ball hit him in the shoulder.

"I'll tell you later. It's getting late and I'm sure Grandma and Grandpa are wondering where I am."

"Are you sure Arnold?"

"I'm sure." He said giving a fake smile.

"Okay man." Arnold trailed beside Gerald. The boys proceeded to Arnold's house and continued to talk about various things about what happened at school.

When they arrived they heard the sound of Jolly Olly man approaching fast.

"Want to go get some ice cream real fast? I'm sure you'll feel a little better." Gerald suggested.

"No thanks. I'm going to head inside. Arnold's forlorn mood was more obvious than Stinky's love for Lemon pudding. The thoughts he had earlier during the game crept up on him again.

"If you ever feel like talking, just let me know." He encouraged Arnold. Arnold smiled a little. The two did their signature thumb shake and went their separate ways.

Gerald observed him slowly dragging his feet up the stairs. Gerald bought his snow cone and watched as his friend's mood saddened each step he took. His best friend couldn't help wondering why Arnold was acting strange, but turned around and head back toward his house. _'Maybe he's sick or something. Maybe leaving him alone is the best medicine. I'm sure he'll come around tomorrow' _He thought as he slowly reached his street.

Arnold opened the door to the old brick boarding house. As usual, various cats and dogs poured out of the door. Arnold shut the door behind him and walked into the kitchen, only to be greeted by his eccentric, but lovable grandfather.

"Heyyy Shortman! How was schooool?" He said welcoming Arnold. The ten year old didn't make any eye contact with his paternal grandfather. "Sooo….how did the big game go with the fifth graders today?" Grandpa said generally happy. Arnold sighed and laid his large head on his palm.

"We lost."

"You lost? What the Sam Hill happened?" He sat down taking a bite of his herring sandwich.

"I didn't pay much attention in the last half. I was...just lost in my thoughts I guess…We were tied and…I missed the ball, but the side of my arm didn't." He grunted as he rubbed that small bruise on his upper arm.

"What were you thinking about? Did something bad happen?" Grandpa Phil suspicions grew in the last few weeks. He knew his grandson wasn't really himself.

Arnold rubbed his head.

Phil knew when Arnold stayed silent.

"Uh oh. Sounds like a like young Arnold's got another one of his complex labyrinthine conundrums of a boyhood problem. What is it this time Arnold?" He said waving his sandwich around.

"..It's nothing Grandpa…I'm just really not in the mood to talk about it right now." He yammered.

"Arnold I'm your grandpa, you can talk to me about anything. Don't leave me hangin'!" He spoke in a cheerful tone to lift up his grandson's attitude. Unfortunately, this time it didn't work.

"Just…tired. That's all. Anyway I think I'll go to bed a little early tonight. Night Grandma. Night Grandpa." Arnold scooted his chair out and got off walking in the direction of the stairs.

"But your grandma's cooking fish tonight! It's not everyday pookie cooks some good ol's fried catfish!" He yelled trying to get Arnold to come back.

"No thanks. I'm not hungry." His disheartened mood was almost infectious. Arnold dragged himself up the stairs. As he shut the door, Arnold plopped onto his bed and rolled onto his back staring at the ceiling. So many thoughts ran through his head.

It was an hour before Phil decided to try again and figure out what made his beloved grandson so depressed. Arnold didn't hear the echo of the footsteps that were creeping closer to his wooden door. He was looking at a picture of his parents that resided in his drawer beside his bed.

"Is there something you want to talk about, Arnold?" Grandpa Phil spoke as he trudged through Arnold's door and then toward his bed.

"No. I just want to get some sleep." He placed the old picture back into its respectful place and out of others sights.

Arnold's Grandpa decided that maybe rest is the best thing for him right now and patted Arnold's shoulder.

"Alright . You need anything just let me or your grandma know, night Arnold!" Phil stood back up and approached the exit to Arnold's room and shut the door heading back down to eat his dinner. Arnold ran his fingers down his father's journal and tucked his hand under his head.

Phil had a gut feeling that Arnold was thinking about his parents, but didn't say anything as proceeded down the creaky stairs.

As the night progressed, he showered, brushed his teeth, and changed into his pajamas. The exhaustion of today's events took over and Arnold finally went to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2: The contest

**Hey Arnold The Jungle Movie: Quest of the Heart**

Chapter 2

"Hey Arnold! Hey Arnold! Hey Arnold! Hey-" Arnold groaned as he turned off his potato clock and rolled over. Despite a long rest, those thoughts were still fresh in his mind. He hesitated to get up as he had to prepare for another long boring day of school.

"I wish it was Saturday…" He said reluctantly as he slowly slumped out of bed and got dressed for school. He looked in the direction of his desk and saw his father's journal. He seemed puzzled.

"I though I had it on my bed with me last night." He walked over to glance at it.

"…Grandpa.." He said with a sleepy tone. He reached for the clothes he already laid out. He wore his normal light colored blue jeans with a teal shirt and his favorite red plaid shirt on the outside with rolled up sleeves. He stared into the bulletin board that was covered in photos of his parents and brochures of San Lorenzo. He lowered his head and gazed at the tattered journal again.

He reached for it and held it in his hands. The history of his parents filled this old book and he treasured it as much as his hat. _'I want to read it again, but why? Even though I feel lonely, I still want to read it again. I'll take it with me today..'_ Shortly after, Arnold made his way down the stairs and into the kitchen with his books in tow.

"Morning Arnold! How ya feeling?" Grandpa said grabbing the other half of his herring sandwich out of the fridge. Arnold sat there staring at his grandpa.

"Mm… Okay I guess" He said with very little emotion. Grandpa placed his wrist on Arnold's forehead.

"Still not feeling well, shortman? Maybe you should go back to bed."

Grandma appeared with a spatula of hot pancakes and plopped them onto Arnold's plate. Arnold's eyes followed the tawny pancakes as they fell in front of him.

"Pookie, watch it with that hot spatula. You could poke an eye out with that" He said as if it happened all the time.

"Thanks Grandma…" he said taking a few bites from his breakfast.

"No grandpa I'm alright. It's just that I really don't feel like going to school today."

"Why is that? You get to go and see all your little friends like Gerald and who knows? Maybe you'll get extra time recess or something." Grandpa took a bite out of his fishy delight as he sat in the chair beside Arnold.

"I know. It's just.. never mind Grandpa. I feel a little better. Maybe I was just really hungry." He stopped eating and left a few pieces of pancakes on the plate.

"Bye Grandma and Grandpa, I'll see you after school" Arnold stated as he walked out the door. Grandpa started to feel troubled by Arnold's disheartenment.

"Ok Arnold.."

Arnold left the stoops of his house only to run into Gerald. It took him a minute to notice Gerald.

"Oh. H-hi Gerald"

Gerald looked at his bland expression.

"Hey man…feeling better?" He asked.

"Yeah… I'm a little better. We need to hurry if we are going to make class before the bell." The two walked fast and jogged class. Arnold, as usual, grabbed a seat by the window. Gerald took the seat beside him and began to talk to Sid and Stinky. As the rest of the kids took their seats, their old fourth grade teacher Mr. Simmons, decided to move up a grade and is now the fifth grade teacher The balding man walks in with a rather large geography book along with a small light brown briefcase.

"Hello class!" He says cheerfully. The class was hardly responsive.

"Hello Mr. Simmons.."

"Today we are going to start off giving out our math tests. Most of the class did really well!" He passed out the tests. Some of the student groaned while others cheered.

"I got a C! I ACTUALLY GOT A C ON MY MATH TEST!" Harold yelled.

"Yeah right pink boy and I'm Mary queen of Scotts…" Helga retaliated. She was only met with a glare.

"I really did Helga." He said grumpily into her face, "If you say that I'm dumb again, I'm gonna pound you!"

"I'd like to see you try blimpo-" Helga willingly shouted back as she was about to stand up, only to be suddenly interrupted.

"Harold and Helga please calm down. It's time for school to start." He began to ruffle through his briefcase for his lesson plan for the day.

"Now. Okay class, we were going to start on our poem assignments, but instead we are going to continue our studies on Central America! Lately we have been learning the different countries and cultures that reside within the Central Americas. So, for the next week that's what we will focus on ! " The class moaned. Arnold, who remained seated, could only look on in heartache. All he could think about was his parents lost in the unforgiving and hardly touched jungles that make up much of the Central Americas.

"Oh come on now! We are going to start off by studying life in the forests and rainforests. You are going to make your own diorama showing at least 3 different kinds of animals and 3 different kinds of plants! We will work on these until lunch." Mr. Simmons's said vivaciously. The class stood and cheered.

"I do have a small homework assignment to get ourselves ready for the test we'll have at the end of the month."

"Oh darn, I left the homework in the folder back at home…" He said under his breath.

Arnold 's anguished state didn't go unnoticed. Helga seemed to be the only one to see that her beloved was in sorrow. _'Oh Arnold. What sorrow you must be feeling. If only I knew the poisonous arrow that has pierced my love's anguished heart.' _Helga could only stare in anguish alongside with him as she gripped the gold locket hidden within her solid pink dress glazed with a red stripe. Arnold was too deep in thought to hardly notice anyone's gaze meeting his.Heturned aiming his sights out the window.

"We will work in pairs of two! Pick your partner and we will get started!" Mr. Simmons walked to where the supplies were and placed out the treys on the extra tables in the corner of the classroom.

The class chattered as they made their way around the room picking partners. A familiar face approached Arnold.

"Like always man?" Gerald said as he offered his usual thumb shake. Arnold lightened up a little and completed their little thumb shake.

"I'll get the paint and you can grab the glue and scissors." Arnold said in his usual tone. The two ascended to get their supplies. The class worked on the projects for the next couple hours. Ten minutes before the bell rang Mr. Simmons stood to get the classes attention.

"Oh class, before I forget, I was handed a sheet this morning talking about the cultural studies we've been working on the passed two days. Our school has announced that it will participate in an essay contest! This year the judges will award the winner and his or her class, a round trip to Central America for a whole week!" The class gasped at the thought of going to an actual out-of-country road trip. "Can you believe that! A whole week in the jungles of Central America! "

Arnold's world went silent as couldn't believe what Mr. Simmons just said. His hands lost the grip and the glue and all the trash he acquired collapsed from his messy hands and landed on the floor. Gerald asked for the scissors but got no response.

"Arnold..?" he asked again, but still no answer. Mr. Simmons looked in the direction of the loud noise.

"Oh my! Arnold are you okay? …Arnold? Hey! ?" He said aloud. Some of the kids took their gaze off their projects and stared at Arnold. Arnold stood there like he was frozen in time. He had thoughts racing through his mind. As soon as that he heard his name he snapped back into reality

"Oh-ohh yeah. I was just thinking about something for the project and…it slipped through my hands. I'm Sorry Mr. Simmons!" He responded with his suddenly louder voice as started to pick up the mess he just made. Gerald took notice of his quick change in attitude.

The lunch bell rings and most of the kids head out to lunch. Gerald stayed behind patiently waiting to be alone with Arnold and try to figure out why his friend was acting so strange.

"Hey Arnold. You've been acting very strange lately. Is it the contest or the trip you got excited about all of a sudden?" Gerald eagerly spoke as he watched his best friend start to pick up the mess.. Arnold could only look at him with a smile. "Well..kinda. Everything's fine Gerald. Go save a table at lunch! I'll meet you there in a few minutes!" Gerald raised his brow.

"Hahaha! Okay Arnold…see you in a few." Gerald confidently walked out .

Mr. Simmons looked up to notice that Arnold was still there cleaning up the station. After Arnold finished, he sat down and lost himself in his thoughts.

"Arnold? Are you not going to lunch? I have to lock the room. I must to run back to my house to pick up my folder for today's other lesson plans and the class's homework for tonight."

"I'm fine Mr. Simmons. Is it ok If I stay here just for a minute?" He asked politely. Mr. Simmons grabbed his keys and nodded.

"Yes, it's fine "I-I'll lock the door so when you leave shut it on the way out. Okay?" He gave a smile and went out in a hurry.

For Arnold it was nice to have it silent. For those few minutes he thought about his parents. He grabbed the familiar brown book that contained his father's adventures. He thought deeply about the contest. Could it really be this easy? Is this the chance he's been waiting for so long? I couldn't believe the chance of him finding out about his parents could happen just like that. Though exuberant of this unbelievable opportunity, he still had a few doubts. It wasn't long before the one who was always on the bright side became roused with bright thoughts.

"I have to enter that contest! I will enter the contest! If I ever have a chance to finding out what happened to my parents, this is it! I can't believe it." He smiled. He stared at the journal and then out the window. A few minutes pass and with his stomach starting to gurgle, Arnold placed the journal back under the desk with his other books and headed to the lunch room.

"Hahaha! Sid you have got to be kidding me." Gerald, Sid and Stinky didn't refrain from laughter until Arnold appeared. Arnold seated himself next to Gerald.

"Hey guys. Sorry I ran a little late." Arnold gave the kids a lame excuse.

"You've been acting weird lately.." Gerald uttered as he took another bite of his mystery meat.

"Everything's fine Gerald. I just got really excited about the essay contest. I have to win it!" Arnold's reaction prompted Sid, Stinky, and Gerald to give him a confused look.

"Arnold, you know hard that will be? Many kids enter and usually someone else wins. Even Phoebe lost. You are going to need a miracle Arnold." Gerald said rather bluntly. Sid replied.

"Yeah . If Phoebe couldn't win, what makes you think you could?" Stinky looked at Arnold.

"Face it Arnold, it's darn near impossible to win that trip. I'd be easier to plant a garden on the playground's concrete."

Arnold gave somewhat of an angry look. "I'm going to enter that contest and I am going to win that trip. I'll do whatever it takes!" His gaze stayed on the boys. Sid, Stinky, Gerald and even a couple other of his classmates gave him puzzled looks and didn't respond back to Arnold's unruly outburst.

'_I will find out what happened to my parents. Winning his contest will give me the answer_' he thought to himself.

After lunch was over, everyone returned to class.

"Alright class! For the rest of today we will work on starting our book reports!" On cue, the class objected. Mr. Simmons let it go and passed out the book report information sheet.

"Before the bell rings I will also hand out the info for the essay contest!" He retorted returning to his desk and sat down in his brown teacher's chair. He started to sort out papers and organize his desk.

It was a few minutes before school let out and the class was starting to pack and become a little restless. Mr. Simmons stood back up grabbing a bundle of packets.

"Class. Class! I have the handout for the essay contest! I hope you all will enter, because who knows, if you win, not just you, but the whole class will get to take an exciting trip to the Central America! First, I will mention that the essay will be a story! You have to make it a tale of adventure! There is so many possibilities!" Arnold listened intently.

"So we just make up our own story?" Stinky answered back. Mr. Simmons let out a chuckle.

"Yes Stinky. Be creative with it!" He responded.

"Second, it has to be 3-10 pages long." Quite a few of the students didn't react kindly to the page limit they were given. Mr. Simmons took a another look at the packet.

"And last, it has to be written in pen when doing the final draft."

"It's due by the end of next week! And remember to read the packet carefully! You are more than welcome to ask me or maybe even your parents to help you! Good luck to all of you!" Mr. Simmons headed back to his desk. The bell rang shortly after and the class got up to leave.

"The guys were going to head to the park to play some Frisbee. Want to come Arnold?" Gerald gestured toward the direction of the park. Arnold thought for a moment before he answered.

"No can do Gerald! I have a lot of work to do!" Arnold smiled as he picked up the pace and headed back to his grandparent's boarding house. Gerald only shook his head as the football headed kid ran swiftly out of the classroom.

The rest of the boys looked on shaking their heads and just shrugged it off as they trotted off to the park.


	3. Chapter 3: The Chance of a Lifetime

**Hey Arnold The Jungle Movie: Quest of the Heart**

Chapter 3

It's been a week and a half since the start of the essay contest. Arnold has been studying everything he can about Central America's rainforests. The different animals, its dangers, and fruit that grows there. Although he studied everything he could, much of the rainforests are still shrouded in mysteries. As Arnold continued to brain storm ideas for his essay, he heard Grandpa call his name quite loudly.

"Coming Grandpa!" He headed toward the bathroom door.

"I'm expecting a package, can you go check? The new table ware is supposed to come in." He uttered through the wooden door.

"Uhh sure thing grandpah…" He agreed. The tired boy trotted to the door and the door creaked open. The man walked up handing Arnold the package. "Can you sign this for me." Arnold grabbed a pen laying on the small end table by the door. He signed the paper and headed off with the package.

The man curved his head attempting to read the signature.

"Can you spell that for me?" He kept tilting his head.

"Shortman. Arnold Shortman. S-h-o-r-t-m-a-n" He smiled faintly. The man gave a nod and shut the door behind him. Arnold advanced into the kitchen and put the box on the table and headed upstairs to get back to work on his essay. A few minutes later he was greeted with a rather loud knock on the door.

"Arnold? Are you in here?" Gerald said knocking. Arnold snapped back to reality for a moment to get up and answer the door.

"Oh hey Gerald." He said rather sluggishly.

"What have you been up to? I've tried to get in touch with you a every day of the last week and even asked you if you wanted to do something after school, but you said you were busy." Gerald was a bit irritated at he fact that his best friend has been ignoring him for the passed seven days.

"I'm sorry Gerald. This essay is extremely important to me. I promise we'll go to the arcade or something later okay?" He said sitting back at the desk. Gerald walked over and noticed all the paper laying about and mountains of crumpled paper around the desk and the mini trashcan.

"Whoa man! You have really been working hard haven't you? Do you mind me asking you exactly why this is so important to you?" Gerald finally decided to ask.

"I can't….I can't tell you. At least not yet. All you need to know is that it'll mean the world to me if I win this contest." Arnold looked down and lowered his voice, "My whole life could be changed or…I could at least get the answers I've wanted for so long" Gerald was at a loss. He knew Arnold was dead serious about this. He was starting to realize that this meant more to him than anything. He never showed this much determination. He makes what he went through with Lila a walk in the park. He could tell this was something and it this something was colossal.

"Okay man. I trust you. Good luck and go easy. You still have three more days to do it. If you ever need to get away you got my number." Gerald offered as he walked toward the door.

"Thanks Gerald." He gave a faint smile and turned around to get back to work. Gerald let him be and proceeded out the door.

It's been over an hour and Arnold hasn't budged.

"This is harder than I thought. I haven't written a single sentence that fits. What do I do?" He felt hopeless. He never felt so low. '_If I don't try to win, I may never get the chance to find them_' He laid his head down and turned to face the wall. His eyes wondered until it landed on a familiar book. His eyes stared for a brief moment and shot up.

"Wait a minute. The journal! I can use my dad's journal for my story! I can't believe I didn't think of this sooner! This is great!" He grabbed the journal and immediately began to read it again.

For the rest of the night he wrote and rewrote the essay. After doing the final draft of the essay he looked at the clock. It was a little after three AM.

"Oh man! It's getting really late. I need to get to sleep…" He said groggily. He collapsed onto his messy bed and almost immediately let the events of today assume control of his consciousness.

It was a cloudy morning in Hillwood. Arnold stirred and open his eyes. He realized his alarm didn't go off yet, but decided to get up anyway. He turned off his clock and changed into his jeans with a teal shirt and then slipped on his plaid shirt. As he walked downstairs he heard a familiar voice echoing from the kitchen.

"Hey Arnold! Breakfast!" Grandpa yelled while flipping some eggs on one pan and bacon on the other. Arnold finally reached the door frame of the kitchen. He yawned loudly and dawdled toward the chair.

"I meant to tell you that your teacher called. He said your grades ware slipping shortman. What's been going on? You've been cooped up in your room for over a week. Your friends have been asking for ya everyday." He disclosed on him wondering why he's been acting so different. Arnold thought for a minute and decided that he needs to know what his case was.

"Okay Grandpa. I was a little unsure of how you would react, but I entered an essay contest at school…" He said with a low but serious tone. Grandpa looked at him with a silly expression.

"Is that it? I thought something bad happened at school. That's really interesting shortman. Why is this essay so important to you that you barely hang out with your friends for more than a day?" He spouted grabbing a plate and placing it on the counter.

"Grandpa. We've been….studying about Central America….and…if I win this essay contest. I get to win a trip to Central America to spend a week learning and exploring the rainforests…along with my class." Grandpa went completely silent. Once his hairy ears heard the two words Central America, it immediately clicked. He decided to take this opportunity to find his parents.

"Oh Arnold. So that's what…you've been up to." The old man sighed. He knew the day would come where Arnold would get the chance to find answers on his parent's obscure disappearance.

"I know what you are thinking Grandpa, that I'm way too young, but it's now or never. I need to try. I know it's not likely I'll ever know, but at least I tried my best.." His normally shining emerald eyes were dimmed.

His normally cheerful grandpa knew his grandson had what it took despite his young age.

"Don't worry shortman, we only wish we could go with you, but someone has to stay here with the boarding house. We need to keep the boarders In tow. It would be chaos if they were left here alone. And besides, Your Grandma and I have been there before already. " Arnold's smile finally manifested.

"I understand Grandpa. I'll be very careful. I've been to the library reading up on the jungle. I feel like I'm ready. I'll do anything for just a simple answer."

"I know you miss 'em, and I miss my boy very much, but it'll be way too dangerous to go look for them alone." His grandpa was stumped on what to tell him. He would very much love for him to win, but even if he did win and got his chance to go, it wouldn't be guaranteed that would find the disclosure of his parent's whereabouts. Would he find the answers he's been searching for almost a decade?

"I know Grandpa, but I have to try-" Arnold gazed at Phil.

"Promise me Shortman that you won't go alone...I've lost my son, I don't want to lose you too." Phil didn't move a muscle. Arnold knew his grandfather deeply cared about him. The ten year old was reassured that he must do this at all cost.

"I promise." Arnold smile . Pookie of course bounced in as usual trying to squash all the flies.

"Don't worry Kimba. You will need supplies for this mission." She held his shoulder attempting to look secretive. Arnold smiled bigger at his delusional, yet lovable grandma.

"I have to win first Grandma.." He laughed feeling a little unsure of himself.

"What do you have to write?" Grandpa stated as he placed Arnold's breakfast on the table.

"We have to write a story! You know…a story with characters and a bad guy and stuff. I couldn't think of anything for the longest time, but then I got an idea. Here's my finished one!" Arnold grinned widely.

"This is very similar to your dad's story!" Grandpa's eyes widened, "Oh wait it IS your dad's story. Silly me!"

"Wow shortman, that's a lot of pages! I'm sure you'll win the contest! I'll be rootin' for ya!" Grandpa said as Arnold inhaled his food.

"Yay Arnold!" His grandma cheered making Arnold more confident than ever.

After breakfast he said his goodbyes and ran out the door.

It was finally Friday, the big day! The class was rowdy as usual. Helga slapping Harold and Sid with his paper airplanes were scattered across the classroom. Mr. Simmons finished grading papers and stood up, "Class I have an important announcement! When the bell rings we all have to head to the auditorium! Principal Wartz has some announcements and he also has really exciting news!" He said, cheerfully as usual. Arnold was the only one who was really interested. Once the bell rang, the classes headed to the auditorium. The students played around, threw paper airplanes and were cutting up. Principal Wartz approached the microphone.

"Students of PS. 118! May I have your undivided attention,…" The students simply ignore him. The principal put the microphone up to the speaker creating feedback. The loud screech shut the students up pretty quickly. As the students settled, Principal Wartz continued to speak. He cleared his throat.

"I have a big announcement! I have received word that a lucky student at our school won first place in the essay contest!" Arnold's heartbeat accelerated. '_Someone from our school won it?! Wait…this can't be…_' Principal Wartz received the envelope and surveyed the students.

"Of course as Principal, I am also invited to this trip." He quickly turns around to cheer for the fact that he gets to go. Arnold was on the edge of his seat.

"The grand prize winner who won a trip for him or her and his class is Andrew…uhhh!" He exclaimed. Arnold's heart dropped. He was speechless and his body started to feel numb. Some of the students displayed confusion. Principal Wartz put his glasses on to take a closer look.

"Oh! My apologies. I misread the name. The real winner of the contest is…ARNOLD SHORTMAN!"

His heart leaped out of his chest. He smiled and headed up there to grab the envelope. He stood there not know what to say. He couldn't hear anything. The only thought that went through his mind was his parents. He achieved his goal. He won the essay, now the real adventure begins, finding his parents. The class cheered and patted Arnold on the shoulder for winning. Arnold didn't take any notice of the class's high spirits.

"Congrats again, young Arnold for winning the contest! You are all dismissed." He paraded away from the microphone as the students cheering grew louder. Harold popped up first screaming at the top of his lungs.

"NO SCHOOL FOR AN ENTIRE WEEK. ALRIGHT!" Sid immediately followed after Harold and then Stinky also shouted out of sheer joy.

"We get to go to the jungle! Frog heaven!"

"Do you reckon we'll get to go raftin' and hiking!?" Phoebe encouraged Stinky's outburst.

"I'm sure that is only scraping the surface of the events we could be participating in on the trip!" She smiled widely.

"Wow Arnold! You did it!" Gerald spoke finally breaking his silence with a loud and somewhat squeaky voice.

"I did!" He said exuberantly. His excitement made his body feel numb. He couldn't believe it. He got up with the rest of the students.

"The packet says we are leaving the last week before summer break. That's two weeks from now Gerald. We have two weeks to prepare." Gerald was still completely oblivious to Arnold's intentions.

"You really are hyped up about this aren't you?"

"You'll see Gerald. This is more than just a trip…I have to go home and tell my grandparents! Hey…Want to meet up at the arcade later?" He offered with a smile. Gerald sighed still utterly muddled.

"Uhh okay sure. Catch you later..!" Gerald knew Arnold was up to something, but decided to shrug it off. '_I hope I can find out why Arnold excited, I mean I'm happy he won. What in the world could this be to make him act this way?_' He continues on his way.

"Grandma! Grandpa! I WON! I WON THE CONTEST! I'M GOING TO SAN LORENZO!" He declared as he slammed opened he dark green door to the boarding house like he just won the lottery.

"Way to go Kimbaaa! Ahaha!" His Grandma Gertie shouted throughout the old brick house as she picked up her preteen grandson and swung him around. Grandpa came out of the bathroom with a rolled up newspaper.

"Ohhh That's wonderful Arnold! You did it Shortman! I always had faith in ya!" He roared in a shrill voice as he rubbed his grandson's blonde spiky hair. The three celebrated in a group hug.

That night they celebrated Arnold's victory. He was finally given his chance he's waited so long for. It was the chance of a lifetime.


	4. Chapter 4: The Adventure Begins

**Hey Arnold The Jungle Movie: Quest of the Heart**

Chapter 4

The week of the trip approached fast and no one was more piqued than Arnold. Already more than half way packed for his excursion, he went for his desk and saw the journal. He looked back toward the bag and thought for a moment. '_Maybe I should take the whole book…_' Arnold smiled and stuck the journal in his backpack. Suddenly, there was a loud knock on the door.

"Come in!" Arnold said not really paying much attention to whomever was at the door. His grandfather entered with something in his hand.

"Hey Shortman! Only a couple more days till your trip! I know it is exciting, but I would like to talk to you for a few minutes." He said as he a took a seat on Arnold's bed.

"Sure Grandpa. What is it?" He continued to rifle through his drawers for extra clothes.

"I want you to remember Arnold that sometimes things don't always come out the way we want them too. You have to be aware of all the outcomes. I just don't want you to get hurt. "He waited for Arnold's response.

"I know, but I just want answers more than anything. I know it'll be hard, but at least I'll never have to wonder. I have to do this grandpa." Grandpa Phil knew there was nothing that would stop young Arnold.

"Just think before you act Arnold. Please be very careful." He warned. Arnold knew what he was doing isn't a game. It's real. Arnold scanned his 82 year-old Grandpa and gave him a warm smiled.

"I promise I'll be careful." Grandpa rubbed his head and rose up from Arnold's bed.

"You really are growing up aren't you shortman? Oh, your friend Gerald stopped by a while ago asking if you were home. Why don't you go enjoy a game of baseball or something'." As his grandfather walked out the door Arnold put his packed bags together and ran down stairs. Once he opened the door to outside, there was Gerald. He was waiting patiently on the last step of Arnold's stoop.

"Hey man. Still up for the arcade?" He asked with a grin. Arnold gave his famous half smile.

"Sure." Gerald looked beside him at Arnold.

"The whole gang's coming."

The two boys headed to the arcade where everyone was waiting.

Helga was at home getting her bags packed too. Thankfully, she knew exactly what to pack. All she needed was two duffel bags and her sleeping bag and pillow. As she stared at her bed, she saw her pink book.

"Ohh Arnold! Finally, a chance to be with my beloved amongst vast wilderness. Wilst I ever get a chance alone with my football headed love god? This could be the big break! I shall soon not be afraid to share my hidden feelings for you Arnold. Ohhh! This trip is Arnold's desire! And so it shall be mine also!" As if it was right on cue , her brute of a father calls her from downstairs. Her mask of hatred is plastered on her face once again. She crammed the small Arnold locket back under her dress and shirt.

"Helga! Get down her little lady!" She travels back down stairs.

"Dad! Come on! The whole class is going! Why can't I?!" She scowled. Her father turned around, only to scowl back at her.

"You are too young to be out there in the jungle by yourself Olga.." Helga sighed.

"It's Helga…dad. And besides, I won't be alone. The whole class is going, including Mr. Simmons and Principal Wartz…We have two adults. Isn't that good enough!?" Big Bob got a splendid idea.

"Hmm. Maybe Olga could also go. That's a great idea. I'll make Olga go with you and your little class" Helga cringed at the idea, but put on a fake smile anyway. '_As long as I go I think I could handle Olga coming with us._'

"Suuuure dad. That's a great idea. Yeah let Olga come with us." she tried desperately not to wince. Helga handed him the permission slip. He snatched it from her hands and signed it.

"There. I'll call Olga and get her here.." He scowled walking out the door. Helga just let out a low growl and grabbed some loose change. She trudged by the kitchen and a passed out Miriam.

"I'm going to the arcade" She said grimacing as she toddled out the door.

It was the day of departure. As usual, the class was pretty restless. Mr. Simmons's class was waiting in the classroom.. The bus that was going to take them to the airport was running late. As the class chattered amongst themselves, Arnold was quiet. He was more interested in what was out the window. Helga comes in late and was being shadowed by her perfect sister Olga. The class observed this while she went to the empty seat by the door.

"Finally made it. "She grunted. Mr. Simmons wasn't sure why she came.

"Oh Helga. I heard from your sister Olga you get to come on the field trip after all! Do you have the permission slip?" Helga sighed with a irritated expression and walked over to Mr. Simmons and handed him the permission slip. Mr. Simmons greeted her with a smile.

"I'm so happy! I've packed my favorite gear for this trip! I'm so excited! Aren't you Helga?" Olga blissfully grasping her hands together. Helga 's expression ceased to change.

"I'm glad you get to join us on this special…and exciting trip to the jungle. " Helga only shot back a scowl.

"Yeah yeah.." She sat back down. Olga grabbed the other empty seat beside Helga and continued her random conversations. The class slowly started to crank back up and converse amongst themselves.

Principal Wartz jaunted into the chatty classroom with a baggage cart. He gave a waving salute signaling that it was time to head to the bus.

"My apologies for the long wait boys and girls. Our caravan has arrived! We need you to calmly approach the baggage carts and place your bags-" Attempting to be calm and organized, Principal Wartz was instead in the middle of a stampeding class barreling towards him. He swiftly got out of the way as the students piled most of their bags untidily onto the carts.

"Finally! We get to go on a trip for the last week of school! I'm bringing tons of food! Aww I can't wait!" Harold's over eager self proclaimed.

"Hey! Remember students. Only two small carry-on bags per student!" He stated raising his index finger up.

The class didn't pay much attention to their principal. As soon as the class had their stuff ready they barreled toward the school's main entrance and started to pile onto the bus. The only two stragglers were Arnold and Helga.

"I can't wait to see what it's like in the Jungle! I'm sure it's full of wonderful creatures and big trees!" Phoebe said with her usual sweet tone. Gerald smiled and followed beside her to the bus. Helga didn't make much of it and only responded with a sarcastic answer. "Yeah…I can't wait.." Arnold looked at Helga, "You aren't the least bit excited Helga?" Helga was obviously tired and handed him a small grunt.

"Not really, hair boy." Of course, no one knew that Helga was secretly pining over Arnold and the fact they'll be in the jungle together, even if the other kids are there. As the two slowly approached the bus there was one seat left for the two. Helga's eyes widened a little. Arnold only sighed.

"Looks like we have to share the seat until we get to the airport.." He said in a 'oh well' type of tone and sat down. Helga took a seat beside him and sunk down.

"Ahahahaa! Arnold and Helga have to sit togetherrrrr!" Helga easily hid her real self under a mask of anger and waved her fist at him.

"you better shut up pink boy, or I'll give you a one way ticket off this bus." Harold made a smart move by hanging back.

Harold was slumped over the seat continuing his laughter with Stinky and Sid. He bends over to checks the duffel bag beside him.

"Aww man! I left my chocolate bars in my other bag. Aww I'm so hungrrry!" He complained and sat back down doing his usually pout routine. Sid and Stinky only laughed.

"At least you have a bag big enough to stuff all of your snacks Harold." Stinky spoke in his usual country accent.

Rhonda was searching through her purse, "I can't believe we are going to a silly jungle. How can they think that's fun? It's hot, there's way too much rain and worst of all no shopping centers! It is simply a home for nasty bugs and barbarians…" She asked Nadine. Nadine thought otherwise.

"How can it not be? It's bug heaven! I brought some extra jars to catch as many as I can! I can't wait to study them!" She poked into her backpack to grab a jar she had handy to show Rhonda. Rhonda only shot an uninterested smirk at her best friend, Lila decided to give her answer.

"I think it'll be marvelous! Just ever-so marvelous!" The sweet tone made Rhonda roll her eyes. 

"We'll see…" She slouched in her seat.

The class continued on to the airport. They arrived early and waited to be boarded. There was a lot of hustle and bustle. People would bump each other now and then. Arnold started to become impatient. His whole future depends on this trip.

"This is it boys and girls. Stay together! Our plane is this way!" Mr. Simmons stated strolling to the gate entrance. One of the female workers approached to Mr. Simmons. 

"I'm sorry sir. You'll have to wait over there. I'm afraid the plane was delayed due to weather conditions. It should arrive later this afternoon." Mr. Simmons tried his best to keep the smile on.

"Oh. Oh ok then. Umm…" He said not sure exactly what to do. He turned to make sure the class would stop in front of him.

"Okay class. It seems our plane was delayed. We'll have to wait for it patiently. We all must stay together. We have to get our luggage in and go through the security check points." The students finished their preparations and all of them gathered in an area full of empty seats. The class moaned and so everyone went to be seated and waited impatiently for their plane.

Five o' clock was coming up fast. Some of the class was drifting off to sleep. Then suddenly, a voice came over the intercom.

"Flight 90 is ready for boarding at gate 33. Again flight 90 is ready for boarding at gate 33." Mr. Simmons perked up.

"That's our plane! Okay class. Let's line up!" The sluggish class rose on their feet to get to their gate and board the plane. Helga scowled again at the fact that Olga is sitting right beside her. Thankfully Phoebe gets to sit right beside her on the plane as well. Most of the class had an area of the plane to their selves. As the hour ticked away the plane finally departed. After a few minutes of getting settled, Harold set off the cue and all the kids started raising a ruckus. The kids switched around in their seats. Harold, Stinky, and Sid were up to their usual deviousness. Stinky decided to grab a yahoo while Harold dug through his bag and pulled out a bag of chips. Then you have Rhonda, Lila, and Nadine talking amongst themselves. A familiar young boy with a bowl cut hair do pops his head over the seat.

"Give daddy some sugar!" Rhonda jumps and meets Curly with a cringe.

"Oh! UGH!" She leans back even more. After a few more exchanged words, she couldn't take anymore and moves back a seat. This does not stop Curly from also moving up between Nadine and Lila to harass Rhonda some more.

"1, 2, 3, and JUMP!" Sheena sings halting Eugene through the air and down the isles. Helga was writing in her pink book when on cue, Brainy pops his head over the seat and wheezes. Helga growls and socks him in the face. Olga turns back to Helga continuing her chat about her successful life. Phoebe also kept rambling on about the history of San Lorenzo. Gerald and Arnold were just talking amongst each other. The class was in a constant state of chaos until the hours ticked by and they finally calmed down. As most of the class got comfortable in their seats, Gerald popped on his headphones as Arnold settled himself as well. Since most of the class has already dozed off, Arnold glanced around. Gerald was listening to his music and the others don't seem to be awake or paying attention. He bent over and grabbed something out of his carry-on bag.

'I'll be there soon Mom…Dad…' he said looking at the journal that he pulled out of his bag. He steered his eyes toward the window with journal clenched in his arms. Gerald opened his eye for a second to glance what Arnold's doing.

"Hey Arnold. What are you looking at?" Arnold snapped back to reality and shifted his gaze.

"Oh..no. I'm fine Gerald…." He tried to shift a little and put the book off to the side out of his sights. Gerald noticed something brown in the corner of his eye.

"...What's that?" Arnold slowly pulled it back out.

"Uhh It's a book I found in my attic…It's a really good book." he looked down at it smiling. Gerald raised a brow. He sat up and turned towards Arnold to get a better look.

"Journal huh? Whose Journal is it?" He said reaching for it. Arnold immediately moved it away from Gerald.

"No.. I mean. it's a story about someone's life. It belong to someone in my family. That's all." He gave him a reassured faint smile. Gerald stared for a minute and gave Arnold a half lid gaze.

"Oh I see. So are yoouuu….up to play some cards?"

He said showing him a deck of cards. Arnold copied Gerald's look and thought for a moment.

"Nahh…it's getting late. I might turn in for the rest of the night…" He whispered moving his bag a little more under the seat.

"Okay Arnold. Whatever you say." Gerald situated himself back in his seat and went to sleep. Arnold's light was the only one on. He looked at the journal and some of the pictures his father drew.

"It's been 9 long years and I can't wait any longer. Hang in there, if you're still out there I'm coming…" He said in a hushed tone.

It was only a matter of time before they would arrive at their destination. Arnold started to feel a little uneasy and a little nervous. He was up for another couple of hours before he finally became drowsy. This was due to it being hours after He stuffed the journal back into his bag and went to sleep.

Meanwhile, a group of explorers arrive in the city of San Lorenzo. The leader, Fernando, who is a tall tanned skin man with jeans, a light colored shirt, and a tawny hat, turns to his group of men and smiles.

"We have a class of fifth graders coming for a week long trip. We must prepare a proper greeting!" The men immediately grabbed their gear and headed to the welcome center. Fernando stared at his map of San Lorenzo with a glimmer of red in his eye. He stared at the men for a moment and they all looked back.

"The time has come…The plans have been put into action. Now we wait." He said as he stuffed the map in his back pocket. He loud a low foreboding chuckle.


	5. Chapter 5: Arrival

**Hey Arnold The Jungle Movie: Quest of the Heart**

Chapter Five

The blinding sun rose higher and higher. It was close to seven in the morning and most of the class is barely stirring. One of the flight attendants came trotting down the isle with a small menu.

"Any of you children want some breakfast?" And of course Harold was the first to answer,.

"How about some sugar chunks lady!" He said groggily as he attempted to re-adjust himself. He woke up Sid and Stinky with his whiny voice.

"Hey Harold. Why did yall have to go and wake me up for. Wait a minute are we there?" Stinky started to get a little excited. Mr. Simmons turned around facing where the boys were.

"Harold it's still early let's keep it low. And not yet Stinky. We're almost there…"

As time passed, the class woke up one by one . Arnold scooted over toward the window and peaked through the glass. His eyes widened a little. The view was beautiful. The vast jungle covered much of the region.

"Whoa… Gerald! Look out the window!" Gerald was one of the last to wake up. He pushed his limp body up and rubbed one of his eyes.

"What..?" He also took a spot of the window to see the view.

"That's a lot of trees." He commented. Arnold could only keep his gaze at the beauty around him. '_Somewhere lies all my answers.' _Arnold's mouth was ajar as a whole other world opened up to him.

A lot of the kids heard the commotion and were also interested. The lot of them crowded toward the windows to look out and see for themselves.

"Whoa! Ooo! WOW!" Some of them shouted in awe of the beautiful limitless rainforest. Olga was also gazing out the window enjoying nature's beauty as it is.

"Oh Helga! Isn't it just wonderful?" She spoke softly as she admired the view. Phoebe also marveled at the vista below them. Helga rolled her eyes and grumbled.

"It's just a huge clump of overgrown trees …yeeeesh" She slouched in her chair even more than she was.

A voice on the intercom caught the kids' attention.

"Please be seated and buckled as the plane descends and prepare for landing." The class scrambled to their seats

and secured themselves and their belongings. The plane started to shake and rumble as it landed roughly on the runway. Principal Wartz and Mr. Simmons waited for the plane to safely stop.

"Okayyy class! Grab your things and wait in the isle in a straight line. We'll get off of here in just a minute!" Everyone was chewing the fat amongst themselves. Arnold only looked ahead. It won't be long before the start of his biggest adventure yet. After several intervals passed the group was still waiting. The class finally started to move toward the exit of the plane. Slowly the class disembarked. The kids one by one took turns observing the area around them. Arnold was one of the last ones and gazed at the huge forest encompassing him. His pace quickened down the stairs of the plane. He dropped his carry-on bag and kept his gaze upwards.

'_I finally made it! _' Arnold's smile got bigger. This was it! The quest to find his parents had finally begun. Mr. Simmons motioned everyone to follow him.

"Boys and girls! The village we'll be staying in is right down here! There's not many people here ,however, a few villagers, are here to help us get settled. We'll be here for a whole week!" He looked ahead of the wide path and saw a sizeable opening. Some of the class started to pick up their pace and run toward the opening. Arnold was one of them and eventually made his way in front of the class. Everything around him would steal his gaze. The smile on his face only grew wider. Mr. Simmons took notice of Arnold's interest in the fauna and foliage around him.

"Isn't it amazing Arnold! It's going to be an exciting week of learning!" Arnold turned his sights to Mr. Simmons.

"Yes it will…" Arnold wish he could talk about his parents, but that was his secret mission. It was to find them, but it's obvious that no one would allow him to go. And so his mission was kept as it was, a secret.

The class stood in the opening of the village. This village consisted of various huts and a couple areas that contained patches of vegetables.

"We are staying…here!" Mr. Simmons exclaimed. The class only stood there a bit too dumbfounded to talk. Most of the class liked it, save for a few. They proceeded to run around looking at their abodes for the week.

Rhonda wasn't very happy.

"We're staying in these dumps? You have got to be kidding…Where are the hotels? Where's the spa? The city? Please don't tell me this is it. " She said quite bluntly. Lila's hands embraced each other and a smile shot across her face.

"Oh these are so lovely! Just ever-so lovely! So simple and a lot like my old country!"

The tour guide and his men approached the children as the luggage was discharged from the plane. As the kids grabbed their bags, this older lanky old man approached the class and Mr. Simmons.

"This must be the class we were told was arriving! Hello and welcome to the glorious republic of San Lorenzo! My name is Fernando and I'm your tour guide for the week." he said with a very heavy accent.

"Wonderful! Class? Class! Say hello to Mr. Fernando!" The class bluntly answered back

"Hello Mr. Fernando…" Mr. Simmons grinned. Fernando snapped his fingers and his group of explorers came forward and picked up the children's luggage and started to transport them to their huts.

"Alright boys and girls it's time to assign you your cabin numbers...or should I say huts?" he let out a chuckle and scanned his list. "After you are assigned a cabin, you may grab your luggage and take it to your cabin." The men who were helping carry the class's luggage set them down in front of the kids.

"In cabin one we have: Arnold, Gerald and Eugene!" Arnold and Gerald did their thumb shake. Eugene was only smiling and silent.. "Then we have in cabin two: Harold, Stinky, Sid, and Curly." The exuberant trio looked at each other.

"Ohoho yeah!" Harold cracked a grin.

"For cabin three we have Brainy, Iggy, and Lorenzo." The three seem to agree on the arrangements.

"Now for the girls! In Cabin four we have Helga, Phoebe, and Olga!" Helga scowled at the fact she had to share her cabin with her 'perfect sister' and of course Olga couldn't be happier. Phoebe turned to smile at Helga.

"Cabin five consists of Rhonda, Nadine, Lila and Sheena!" The girls complied. "The last cabin will Be Principal Wartz and I. If you need something or anything happens, please let us know right away. Go ahead and get your luggage and arrange it how you want it! We'll give you two hours to unpack and get settled!" The students grabbed their things and headed to their cabins. Arnold and Gerald entered with their bags and picked themselves a bed.

"Never thought we'd have bunks.." Arnold spoke observing the contents of their cabin. "Mind if I take the bottom bunk?" Gerald shrugged and didn't seem to mind at all.

"I love bunk beds!" Hey guys, can I take a top bunk?" Eugene blurted. Arnold and Gerald looked at each other and smiled.

"Sure Eugene...I'll take the bed above Arnold then." Gerald said placing his bags beside the bed. As Arnold sifted through his stuff he came across his smaller bag. He turned his gaze to Gerald and Eugene who weren't really paying attention to Arnold at the moment. This prompted Arnold to take the bag and place it under the bed out of their sight. In recent nights, Arnold's been planning to escape at night to begin his search, however he didn't want to go out alone due to his promise to His Grandpa Phil. He needed to put the items he planned on bringing with him when the time came to sneak out. Arnold then looked back into his duffel bag and came across his father's journal again. He again sneakily stuck the journal into his shoulder bag. Gerald decided to pounce on the bed to see how comfortable they were.

"They're actually kinda comfy…" He looked at Arnold suspiciously placing things in a small bag.

"What are you packing Arnold?" Arnold jumped and was quick to think of an excuse.

"Oh…haha…it's just…a small pack to carry some water and maybe something we might need when we go hiking…or something." Gerald raised his brow.

"Oh..um okay then." he laid down on the bed smiling. "I can't wait to see what we're gonna do first." Arnold shook his head. The thought of him sneaking out was constantly on his mind. When would be able to sneak out and can he do it without anyone noticing?

"I'm interested too…." Arnold fixed his bags neatly and also plopped onto his bed. Eugene took out a couple of his comic books and crawled to the top of the bed. Gerald watched him clumsily climb up only to fall a short two seconds later.

"ah...I'm okay.." He said trying to shrug it off. He climbed to the top bunk and finally got his chance to try out the bed.

"Hey these are kind of comfortable! Ahhh. Well I'm going to read some of my comic books!" the other two were only smiling and shaking their heads.

Rhonda unwillingly dragged her bag to the closest bed.

"This is getting annoying already. I just want to get my bags in and call my parents…" Nadine dropped her bags beside the bed Rhonda claimed.

"I'll take the top bunk!" she climbed the post to get up to the top. She hung her head over the bed and stared at Rhonda." You know your technology won't work out here…right?" Rhonda froze.

"Don't be silly Nadine…I have the best of the best when it comes to technology." She said perking back up. Nadine shook it off and rolled back over. Lila and Sheena came in giggling shortly after Rhonda and Nadine.

"I can't wait to go hiking! I just love to go walking.. Just ever-so much!" she smiled even bigger. Sheena clutched her hands.

"I'm also very excited! Can't wait to see all the adorable animals and all the trees! Hey Lila you want the top bed?" Lila nodded, "That would be nice, but I'm sure you should take it." Sheena agreed, "If you're sure." She replied in a sweet tone.

In Helga's cabin, the only person who was talking was Olga. "I'm so excited Helga! I've really wanted to visit central America! It's so wonderful!" Helga sarcastically replied.

"Yeah. It's a real doozy." Helga stuffed her bags beside her bunk on the right. "Hey Phoebes…do you have my other snacks in your bag?" Phoebe dug into her bag and pulled them out.

"Right here, Helga!" she smiled. Helga casually just took them out of her tiny hands. She took a deep breath and fell down onto the bed.

"These beds aren't too bad…" She said stretching and placing her arms under her head. She closed her eyes and tuned out whatever was happening around her. Phoebe pounced herself on the bottom bed of the other bunk and cuddled with the pillow.

As time progressed, the kids all gathered for their first hiking trip in the humid jungles of Central America. The tour guide, Fernando, came out with a map.

"Today we are going to the river banks! We also have a little surprise for you on our way!" He guided the kids on the trail.

"This is a huge forest…" Stinky said gazing at the trees around him. The tour guide smiled.

"Why yes…Yes it is!…Mr.….?" He looked at Stinky waiting for a reply.

"The name's Stinky sir." Fernando furrowed his brow.

"Ah, yes…Well Mr.…Stinky…There are thousands of trees! In fact the rainforest covers 87 kilometers of Central America! These rainforests are home to thousands of insects. There are thousands of plants and there are hundreds of birds and other animals.

Most of the fauna is made up of fish and birds with well over 3000 species combined!" He said with an exaggerating tone of voice. Some of the class reacted and looked around in awe.

"Whooaaa!" Suddenly there was a rustle in the bushes. Some of the class jumped. A large snake slithered toward one of them. Helga jumped into Arnold's arms squealing and scaring the snake. The snake scurried off in another direction, prompting Helga to immediately get out of Arnold's grasp.

"Ew…Don't get all mushy on me, Arnoldo!" Her reaction only made Arnold give her an annoyed expression.

Arnold only shrugged it off. The class continued till they arrived on a ledge showing a huge valley. In front of them was a long rope bridge.

"Boy howdy look at that!" Sid's voice echoed looking over the edge and into the valley Arnold especially was amazed. It was thanks to all the stories his grandparents told him about his parent's various adventures.

"Willikers, that's a steep fall. I wonder how far that there slope goes." Sid threw a medium sized rock down and the watched it go our of sight and didn't even see it touch the ground.

"Wowww" The two stared down where the rock most likely fell. Harold stepped back showing that he does not want to be that close to the edge.

Their guide, Fernando smiled and held out his hands to let one of the kids go first. Most of the class was reluctant to go across. Arnold stared straight across and not a trace of fear was seen on his face. He took a step onto the bridge to see how sturdy it was. He kept taking more frequent steps and felt generally okay to keep going across the rickety hundred year old bridge. His best friend could always trust Arnold so he was the next person take the step and followed Arnold.

"Only a couple more can go until they get to other side, just take it easy.." He said comforting the scared children. Harold was almost in tears.

"I might be scared, but…but I'm not chicken!" He took a baby step and was trembling just a bit. After a few steps he suddenly became brave. "This isn't so bad.." he said letting go of the railing.

"Ok two more kids can continue across...There we go…" the tour guide spoke in a low tone. Eventually, the whole group was on the bridge, but a good majority of them weren't moving very fast.

"Something tells me this is not a good idea…" Gerald said breaking the silence. The tour guide only smiled, "Many of tourists have crossed this bridge. It might be old but it's quite sturdy. No need to worry."

It took a while before the class was mostly across. Now and the class would talk to each other to pass the time.

Arnold and Gerald took the first step onto the other side.

"We finally got off that bridge…A little too high for me." Arnold had a small smile as he looked at Gerald then looked ahead.


	6. Chapter 6: A Friend Indeed

**Hey Arnold The Jungle Movie: Quest of the Heart**

Chapter 6

The tour continued. They walked through various paths and beautiful views. Arnold took in everything as he went along. Any information that could come in handy when the time came. Halfway into their exploration, they stopped at a large open area with aged wooden picnic tables. They had umbrellas but you could tell they were quite dilapidated. Definitely not a nice welcoming area for a big picnic.

"I'm sure you kids are quite famished. Thankfully, we had everything prepared for you!" Fernando said politely while holding out his hand. The class immediately became bewildered. including Harold, but he really didn't seem to mind since his stomach was the chief of his body and not the brain.

"ALRIIGHT!" He was the first to barrel over and take a seat. He did not hesitate to take the first bite of lunch. As the class sat down, Arnold and Gerald sat toward the end.

"The Jungle isn't all that bad…but it's still too humid. Maybe wearing a hoodie wasn't the brightest idea." Gerald leaned back and removed it from his torso revealing his red boys tank tops. He wrapped his hoodie around him and tied it around his waist for now.

"I'll just toss this in my bag at the cabin when we get back.." Arnold didn't really talk much. He had way too much on his mind. _'Maybe I should tell Gerald what I planned on doing. I promised Grandpa I wouldn't go alone…I don't know if I should bring it up now…or wait-.' _Arnold was snapped back to reality thanks to Gerald waving his hand in front of Arnold's face.

"Earth to Arnold. Are you in there? Man, you have been acting weird. First you were acting all sad, but then the contest and you got all excited when you won. Something's up.. You know you can always talk to me. You are my best friend you know" Gerald said encouraging Arnold to talk.

"Well I was going to say something, but I didn't know how to come about it. I made a promise to grandpa...it's a loooong story…I'll tell you later on tonight when everyone's asleep." he whispered hoping no one would hear him. Gerald was immediately intrigued.

"Oh okay…" the two continued to eat.

After an hour the class was waiting for their tour guide, Fernando for any further instructions. Fernando was with his small group of men talking about various things.

"Is it time…I mean we are alone boss-" The shorter one, named Tiotom exclaimed to his boss. The taller lanky one, Feliciano, agreed, but before he could speak, Fernando placed his hand over his face.

"It's only the first full day…On the third day, we'll get them in on the boat tour and then, it's time to carry out phase two of the plan, but for now...keep it quiet, you hear?" He said threateningly to his cronies. The three put smiles on their face and walked out side of the smaller hut. Fernando clapped twice and stood in front of the long table the class was sitting at.

"I hope everyone's full as we are ready to head out on our next adventure! For the rest of today we'll explore some of the local caves and get in some pool time! What do you say amigos?" He put his fists on his hips waiting for a reply. He got a good majority of the whole class cheering.

"You have a pool? Finally something I could actually enjoy! " spoke the relieved Rhonda. Olga could barely speak. Mr. Simmons and Principal Wartz also seemed pretty ecstatic.

"Alright! Let's go back to your cabins and grab whatever you feel like taking with you!" The class clumped together and ran in the direction of their cabins.

"Ugh class! Slow down! We'll…We'll get there soon enough!" Mr. Simmons yelled in hopes of getting the class to tone down their excitement so he could keep up.

The only things the boys had to do was get into their trunks and bathing suits on. Subsequently, the boys waited outside for the girls. In Rhonda's cabin, Lila had on a cute light green one piece. She grabbed a light colored towel and some sunscreen.

"Your bathing suit suits you well Lila." Rhonda complimented as she grabbed her expensive tan oil and decorative beach towel. "Finally, we gave something a bit more relaxing to do. This jungle is just way too humid and there are tons of bugs everywhere! I've already got scuffs on my brand new boots. It's simply driving me crazy." Sheena couldn't see why Rhonda didn't like the jungle.

"I think it's lovely. It is a little humid, but there is plenty of shade from the sun and it's so full of plants and I even got to see a cute little monkey nibbling on some fruit!" Lila smiled at Sheena and replied, "I agree. It's beautiful, just ever so beautiful!"

In Helga's cabin the girls didn't take as long as the other girls did. Helga sprayed her sunscreen on and grabbed her towel and sunglasses and headed toward the door. Olga was holding her towel sporting her light green bikini, "wait for me baby sister! I'm coming too!" she said giddily prancing toward Helga. Helga, as usual just rolled her eyes and stayed silent as they both walked out the door. Phoebe followed behind the two in her light blue one piece with a cute skirt added to it. She was still irritated about this entire trip. How would she plan some alone time with Arnold with her perfect sister always looming over her shoulder. In the mean time, all she could do was try and keep her cool.

Once everyone came out ready to go, they headed to the underbrush about 20 or 30 yards and found a beautiful sparkling pool of clear water painted with large green foliage. Helga raised a brow, "I thought we were going to the pool…?" she scowled. The tour guide kept his composure and walked toward the walkway that leads back to the village. He and the men with him walked back since it was a straight shot back to the village they were bunking at.

It wasn't long before nightfall that they packed up and headed back to their camp site.

The kids, tired from today's explorations, sat around the campfire on old chopped logs. They have been eating hotdogs Mr. Simmons packed for their trip. Mr Simmons broke the silence.

"Does anyone have a transcendent tale of adventure or a worthy ghost story?" Some of the preteens looked at each other waiting for someone to reply.

"Transcendent? What the heck's that mean?" the country talking Stinky asked. Mr. Simmons let out a tiny sigh.

"It means great Stinky…" Stinky stared.

"Oh." they all looked at each other.

After a few minutes of mediocre ghost stories Arnold was truck with an idea. Arnold raised his hand.

"I have an amazing story. It's from a book I read a few months ago." Arnold said rather excitedly. Mr. Simmons

Smiled and gestured Arnold to stand.

"This incredible story starts with an explorer named…Mathew! He traveled everywhere he could. He brewed remedies and learned about culture around him. While he was here in these rainforests, he met a nice lady named Stacy. They were inseparable. Together they traveled the world helping people in need. They're favorite place to be was here in San Lorenzo. They became friends with a secret tribe called the Blue-eyes. An evil pirate named Salvador found out about Mathew and Stacy's friendship with the secret tribe. He knew of a sacred Talisman that the blue eyes treasured. He wanted it for himself. So he set out to find the old shrine that contained it and he did. He STOLE IT from them!" Arnold's tone became more intense. Harold started to shake chewing on his thumbnail. Some of the other boys and girls stared wide-eyed at Arnold's misgiving tone as he continued on with his story. Even Gerald was drawn into it.

"When Mat and Stacy found out, they decided to track him down. Once they finally obtained the treasure they frantically ran through the thick rain forests that surrounded them. Eventually they escaped from the evil grasp of Salvador!" Arnold kept turning around and pushing himself toward the fire to give a dramatic touch, which obviously worked. The tour guide Fernando and his men were listening intently. The stout man Tiotom's eyed widened a little and turned to focus on his leader.

"Sir…that story! It sounds an awful lot like…"Fernando leaned back in a muffled tone.

"I know. He changed it a little. That kid. It's him alright. I wonder how he knew all that." He continued watching the ten year old tell his story.

"The Blue-eyes accepted them as members of their tribe and their family. Miles...I mean Mathew and Stacy were married shortly after. When they heard the tribe became sick, they immediately began gathering things to make the medicine the tribe desperately needed. They save the tribe from the sickness. The two eventually had a son named Alfred, but one day they had to leave to help the tribe again so they left him with…his aunt and uncle. They never returned until nine years later! They were together again. They began to take trips around the world with their son. The once separated family were together again." He replaced a sad look with a smile. The only one to notice something iffy was Gerald. _'Hmm...That story seems a little weird. Why is he acting like the story was something that might have happened to someone he knew?'_

"That was a righteously told story Arnold!" Gerald said with a half-lid gaze. Arnold sat back down.

Mr. Simmons and some of the class seemed to like Arnold's adventurous tale. The teacher looked around the campfire at his students and stood up.

"Okay class! It is time to check in for the night! We have an exciting day tomorrow!" He said joyously. His students were thrilled to be able to go to bed. They all sauntered to their huts ready for sleep. Gerald came to the decision to finally pry into what Arnold was going to tell him, but first was feeling off about that story he recounted.

"Hey Arnold! That story of yours made me feel like you knew those people?" Arnold became a little peevish.

"well I…." Arnold felt defeated. He couldn't lie or keep this secret any longer.

"Come on Gerald. I'll tell you after everyone falls asleep like I said earlier…" Gerald sighed and agreed.

When everyone retired to the cabins for the night, Gerald and Arnold were trudging side by side and Gerald glanced around to see what the other kids were doing. He concluded that the coast was clear and decided to ask about what Arnold had to say.

"So Arnold what exactly did you want to tell me..?" Arnold sighed, "I can explain what exactly is going on. I'll tell you on one condition…You can't tell anyone about this. You have to promise me." Gerald smiled.

"Hey man you can trust me…" he said without a single drop of sweat. Arnold smiled back and the two entered their cabin, got into their pajamas and grabbed out some of their Purdy boys comics and relaxed on their beds until Eugene fell sleep which didn't take long at all. A couple hours later most of the kids students were out like lights. Gerald was on the verge of falling asleep and then Arnold tapped on his shoulder waking him up.

"Huh…oh I wasn't sleeping. I was just resting my eyes…" He whispered as he climbed down slowly onto Arnold's bed. Arnold had his arms wrapped around his knees with a doubtful manor on his face.

"Okay.." he was still hesitant, but he knew he could trust Gerald. "It's a pretty long story though. Do you remember that day where we were sitting on the stoop? You were asking me what was wrong. It was the anniversary of the day my parents left and never came back?" Gerald pondered for a moment, "I think…I think I do…"

"It was when you and the others went to Dinoland and was able to ride that Tyrannosaurus Rex Roller coaster, but I ended up not going." Gerald shot his head up, "Oh yeah.. Yeah now I remember!" He smiled and resituated his legs to get comfortable.

"Well later on that day I was fed up thinking about my parents all this time. So, I put all my parent's stuff up in the attic and when I put the box up…I found something." Arnold crawled around Gerald to get to his bag and snatched the journal out of it. Arnold brushed off the journal and he opened it.

"This was what I found. It's my father's Journal and since grandpa would always read me stories, I decided to let him read it to me. I found out so much stuff about my parents. It was amazing! After he finished reading it I was sitting on my stoop and…I found this…this map." He opened the journal and flipped to the end of it and unstuck the page revealing the map. Gerald's eyes scanned the page with his mouth slightly ajar. He was letting Arnold's words soak in.

"My mother's name was Stella. She was a doctor and a botanist. My dad, whose name was Miles was a doctor too and he was a scientist. They helped lots of people. The day they left, they were headed here. They came here to San Lorenzo…You see, the jungle has villages, now and then some tourists, but there is also an ancient civilization that still exists somewhere in the jungle. They are known as the green-eyed people. The green-eyes are very secretive and cannot be seen in the light of day…or…well at least no has seen what they look like anyhow. In the journal, my dad explained how their civilization would be struck with deadly diseases like this one that was called the sleeping sickness. So my parents would travel all over South America to find the cure and help them anyway they could. That's what they loved to do. They eventually were welcomed as members of their tribe…" Arnold would now and then turn a page gazing at his father's words in the journal smiling every know and then. "After helping the green eyes that mom and dad had me. After sometime, they decided to move back to Hillwood, because the jungle was way too dangerous for me. It wasn't long before my first birthday came up and we had a party and everything, but then my parent's left to go help the green-eyes again. I never heard from them again." Arnold sniffled as he held back his tears . "They nor their plane was ever found…and I thought about this a while and wasn't sure what I could do. I feel like this was my opportunity to find my parents…or at least find out what could have happened to them." he said as his expression saddened and his spirit dampened along with it. He stayed silent for a few minutes. Gerald wasn't sure what to say. Everything that Arnold told him seem to all come together. He stayed silent for those few moments.

"Wait so that story you told. Mat and Stacy were actually Miles and Stella, your parents?! And the aunt and uncle were your grandparents? That would make you Alfred…?!" Gerald asked genuinely shocked. Arnold let out a soft laugh.

"Well yes. I changed the names because I knew the real bad guy La Sombra was out there. I just wanted to be careful, though I think the story, if he heard it, would be kind of obvious. I don't know." Gerald took a deep breath. Thoughts were still rushing through his head.

"Wow Arnold. I didn't realize. This explains everything! No wonder you wanted to win that essay contest so bad. So you're saying the reason why this whole time you've been acting so strange was because you had a map that could lead you to your parents for all these months? I don't know what to say man…It's brave to take on this task, but it's been almost ten years…The likelihood of them coming back isn't very good. I'd hate to see you get hurt, but I have to admit that this essay contest and this trip was uncanny. You are definitely a bold kid Arnold." Arnold smiled faintly and closed the journal as he placed it back into the bag.

"But there is a few problems…I promised Grandpa that no matter what, I wouldn't go alone…and...well-" After all the bizarre and crazy adventures they have had back in Hillwood, Gerald did not have a doubt in his mind nor his decision.

"It sounds pretty crazy. It sounds like that it could be one heck of an adventure, but I think after all this time you deserve some kind of answer, Arnold. You're my main man, You are true blue Arnold, count me in! What's the plan?" The two did their signature thumb shake and this made Arnold smile big. It made him happy that no matter how crazy things may become, it was nice to always have somebody there you could rely on. Arnold was now pumped more than ever.

"What would I do without you Gerald." Gerald smile and just shot a half-lid gaze at his best friend. Arnold thought for a moment and the look on his face showed he was pretty stumped about it all.

"I don't know yet exactly… It's not going to be easy. The tour guides do patrol now and then. I've been writing down some notes to help when I'm out in the jungle, like what berries to eat and stuff. We just have to be careful and make good time. We only have a four days to do this." Arnold repositioned himself and getting comfortable, but before he would go to sleep, he turned back over facing his best friend. "I forgot to ask you something…" Gerald stopped moving and looked at Arnold.

"What?"

"I have a small pack with a few things we might need like snacks, bottled water and other stuff like bandages and I think I have a flashlight too. Do you have anything to bring?" Gerald pulled out a small pack too with a water bottle attached to the side pocket. Arnold's smile had faded but reappeared again. He laid the pack on the edge of his bed.

"Carry only what you need. We need to keep it light as possible. The less we have, the easier the load." Arnold implied as he snuggled himself under his covers. Gerald placed the pack beside his larger bags and climbed up to the top bunk.

"I'm not sure when we have to sneak out but it'll have to be when everyone is asleep. Anyway we have time to figure out when exactly we must go. For now let's get some sleep. We'll need plenty of rest if we are going to pull this off. Goodnight Gerald." Gerald covered himself.

"Night man." the two soon eventually drifted off to sleep.


	7. Chapter 7: A Day of Fun

**Hey Arnold The Jungle Movie: Quest of the Heart**

Chapter 7

The next morning, the jungle was lit by the rising sun. The morning dew covered much of the vegetation around them making everything glisten. Near the area consisting of the boys cabins, it was pretty noisy. Some of the boys were stirring, but only a few woke up. It would be several more minutes before a good majority of the boys awakened. One of the early birds, Arnold was organizing a few of his things and laying his pack off to the side. He would glance at Eugene now and then to make sure he wouldn't suspect anything. Thankfully, Eugene was a pretty heavy sleeper. Gerald was also fixing a small pack for him self and threw on one of his red sleeveless tops.

"You got your bag ready Gerald?" he whispered softly. Gerald replied with a smiling gaze and held the bag over the top bunk. Arnold grabbed the bag and placed it beside his on the floor.

Meanwhile in the girl's cabin, All the girls were already awake, fixing up their own little space in the cabins. In Olga's cabin, Helga was one of the last girls to wake up. The window let in the sun's light making her cringe from its brightness.

"Stupid light…ughh" She rubbed her eyes and the first thing she saw was none other than Olga's goofy smile. Olga drew closer.

"Wake up baby sister!" Her voice sounded soft, but to Helga it was the most annoying voice to ever enter her ears. She only replied with a grumble. The rest of her cabin were dressed and ready to take on today's endeavors.

Thirty minutes passed and the class was awaiting for announcements for today's events. As usual a peppy Mr. Simmons came out with his clipboard and showing off a huge smile to his class who are growing impatient.

"Good morning class! I hope you all slept well last night! It sure was humid though… " He began to mumble a little bit.

"Get on with it Simmons…" Helga's grouchy voice stopped Mr. Simmons mumbles.

"Anyway, our plans for today do consist of exploring the jungle some more, but first we have an unexpected surprise! It seems that our tour guide has invited us to visit the special markets in a small town not far from here. So for the first few hours we'll go do some souvenir shopping. What do you say?!" The class seemed interested, but didn't respond to Mr. Simmons.

"Ok then. Make sure you have some money if you find something you like." As he said that a few decided to go grab some change they had with them.

"I hope they have food I'm sooo hungry!" Harold complained to Sid and Stinky.

"I wonder if they have any lemon puddin' " He said with a dreamy look on his face.

Sid ran ahead, "I wonder if they have any awesome tribe masks. Maybe we can put them on and scare all he girls straight out of their hut!…"

Harold and Stinky were immediately interested, "Let's do it!"

They laughed as they went to grab their money.

The class boarded the bus and were ready to go. Most of the was class acting up as usual. Arnold and Gerald grabbed a seat toward the front. With the seats around them empty, Arnold turned to Gerald.

"Okay, I've been thinking about it all morning. I've waited this long already so I can learn as much as I can about the rainforest, like the fruit we can eat. Some of the plants to stay away from.."

Gerald raised one of his eyebrows, "You aren't prepared at all are you." Arnold retorted with only a smile.

"This is our second day in the Jungle and since everyone seems settled in, I plan on sneaking out late tomorrow night. I do have my watch with new batteries and everything and the time is right on it. I think about Three in the morning we need to move." Gerald didn't seem very convinced, but knowing his closest friend it seems like nothing would change hiss mind.

"That's really early Arnold…" Gerald said trying to see if they could add an hour or two. Arnold's decision didn't budge.

"I know, but by then I'm positive everyone will be asleep." Arnold turned his gaze out the window seeing some of the sights.

"It is settled then." The boys sat there waiting patiently until that time.

The bus screeched to a halt on the side of a small grassy strip. Some of the fourth graders scurried to a window to look out. This strip contained abundant of vendors. Mr. Simmons addressed the class.

"Okay. Everyone stay in a group of four and don't go too far. Stay where I can see you. Our group will see about 6 vendors at a time. Keep any eye out for me standing and waving my clipboard. We will all meet back here at the bus in a couple of hours. Let's have fun!" He said cheerfully. The class appeared ecstatic and started to group together.

The class exited the bus and ran toward the first couple of vendors. The tour guide and his two right hand men were right behind them.

"Slow down everyone!" Mr. Simmons waved frantically as Principal Warts followed suit. Fernando and his two men Francisco and Tiotom also followed the eager class.

"This dress is absolutely gorgeous! It is so perfect! I'll take this." Rhonda said handing out some money. The woman gladly accepted and offered her more accessories to go with it. Rhonda eagerly listened to her offer and purchased the accessories too. Nadine was looking into the merchant's booth across from the wardrobe booth. It was abundant in bug pendants and other sea animal bracelets and necklaces. The two quickly met up. Rhonda was carrying a few bags, while Nadine only had one. The girls showed off their souvenirs to each other.

Further down, Phoebe took a liking to the jewelry and did acquire a beautiful star pendant. Helga didn't seem all that interested in buying anything, but still enjoyed what the vendors market had to offer.

Most of the boys were eager to try out some of the food, which Harold was one of the first to buy some.

"This is so goood!" He said munching on a fishy delicacy. Sid on the other hand also enjoy some small fried fish. Stinky didn't seem all that happy. His search for lemon pudding came out empty.

"Look at this Arnold…" Gerald said pointing out a jungle themed booth. The two headed over there to see if they had anything that would help them on their secret expedition. The boys were in luck. They obtained a current map, a small pair of cheap binoculars, an extra flashlight and a rope. There was a little more, but to them it wasn't that necessary and besides, they already used up all their souvenir money.

An hour passed and the class met up in a bigger clearing with tables and a tiki-themed bar. Mr. Simmons was showing signs of fatigue due to the class's rambunctious behavior.

"O-o-okay class. I think it's time we sat down for a short lunch and bathroom break." Principal Wartz eyed the restrooms and a couple of the boys followed suit. Some of the girls also took the opportunity to wash up for lunch. The class didn't have a lot of table room, but they did have a tree implanted in a round cemented display. Beside that there was a big fountain with clear water spitting out of what looked like a replica of an ancient Mayan temple. It was surrounded by concrete blocks conveniently short enough for the kids to sit on.

Fernando and his two tour guide helpers sat there and ate their lunch. Arnold stared at Fernando. Something about him seemed kind of familiar. Arnold left his seat and sat by Fernando.

"Hey…Mr. Fernando? Is it ok if I sit here? I have a couple questions. Do you live here? How long have you been here?" He said taking a bite of his food.

Fernando chuckled and gave him a smile. "Why of course young…Arnold was it?" Arnold nodded a yes.

"I've lived here all my life. I was an anthropologist for a long time, but I wanted to…well…settle down a while and so I became a tour guide. I've been on many expeditions!" He said hesitantly. A few other classmates of Arnold joined him in learning more about Fernando's life in Central America.

"Where is your house? Is it in the jungle?: Sid asked. Harold also spit out a question.

"Is the jungle dangerous?!"

Fernando chuckled, "My house is in fact in the Jungle and it can be if you are not careful."

"I had a partner with me till he went off on his own adventures. I haven't seen nor have I heard from him in a long time." His heavy accent made it hard to understand him. Arnold's curiosity grew.

"What was your partners name?" Fernando spent a few moments to think, "His name was-" He was interrupted by screams. Their gazes turned to a familiar boy with glasses and a bowl shaped hair cut.

"AHAHAHAHAHAHAA!" Curly laughed maniacally while wearing a tribal mask. He also had on a vibrant pancho and he was holding to fresh fish. In hot pursuit of this crazy boy were 3 merchants desperately trying to get their merchandise back. After a few moments Fernando continued to tell the kids more about his life, but was quickly interrupted by Mr. Simmons.

"My class, please finish your meals quickly so we may get back to exploring some of the vendors on the east and west strip before we head back. When we get back to our campsite, we have another exciting excursion to see some old ruins from an unknown civilizations. Some believe it could be the Mayans-" Harold complained at his teacher's ramblings

"Okay okay…" he finished his last half of his sandwich and got up to get a drink.

The class gathered around the fountain. After Mr. Simmons counted the students, they proceeded to explore the rest of the market.

Late afternoon was fast approaching and the class boarded the bus and left the marketplace to head back to their camp.

Gerald and Arnold sat in the back as the rest of the class were showing off their souvenirs.

"So tonight's the night huh Arnold." Gerald quietly remarked. Arnold nodded in agreement. The two smiled and looked ahead at their classmates acting like their usual selves.


End file.
